Operation Shadow Box by Jennifer Haynie

Author:Jennifer Haynie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jennifer Haynie
Published: 2016-01-09T22:37:56+00:00

Deborah placed the dishes into the dishwasher and turned her mind and hands to the big iron skillet where she’d fried some bacon. The chore of cleaning up from the breakfast she’d prepared for her children and the Shadow Box crew distracted her from the music studio, where Victor had sequestered himself as he waited on news from his handler.

For about the hundredth time, she wondered what took so long.

“Most excellent, Deb,” Butch said as he raised his coffee mug in a mock toast. He drained the last of it and set it on the granite with a thunk. “I’m outta here. I need to organize the Tool Barn. Where’s DJ?”

“Here, Mr. Addison,” DJ called.

Deborah swallowed hard when she noticed her son already dressed in a pair of jeans, his hiking boots, and a fleece.

“Hey, little brother. You can call me Uncle Butch. I need your help outside in the Tool Barn.”

“Can I, Mom?” DJ’s excitement almost broke her heart.

“Go on.” She stepped into the great room and noted Sana, Suleiman, and Shelly curled up in chairs and on the couch in the den as they watched Saturday morning television with Marie and Gracie. Anna had retreated upstairs. Diana was getting ready for a workout, and she had yet to see Skylar or Fiona.

“Deb.” Victor’s soft voice made her glance up.

He leaned against the archway leading from the kitchen to the great room. Stubble added shadow to his jaw, and his brow knitted. Since she’d last seen him, he’d rolled up the sleeves of his deep red shirt. He turned his phone over and over in his hands.

“Vic?”

“Let’s go upstairs and talk.” He grasped her arm and walked her toward the stairs.

Once inside the studio with the door closed so no one could overhear, she shook loose. “What happened? Did they find Liza?”

“Why don’t you sit over there?” Victor nodded toward a love seat near the piano. Then he pulled over the bench and sat across from her, elbows resting on knees, his gaze on the floor. Finally, he raised it. Exhaustion turned his eyes red. The sadness in those depths shook her.

She knew.

Voice quavering, she asked, “What happened?”

“Gary called. The FBI got to Liza’s house. She’s been kidnapped.”

Trembling started deep within. She clasped her hands on her lap. She bit down hard on her lip and began shaking her head.

“At first they thought she’d left on her own will because her Jeep was missing. But then they found a shattered tea mug in the kitchen and blood spatters on the floor.”

Her fingers tightened around each other. “Nothing else?”

“Not yet. They’re going over the house with a forensics unit and are doing interviews in town. We’ve got to give them time to work.”

Her stomach knotted as her face went cold, then hot with frustration that made her jump up. “Why didn’t you go after her?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Why didn’t you go after her?”

“I didn’t know. It caught Gary off guard too.”

“I said when I filled out the form that I had a sister.

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